


To Wake Up Dreaming

by hungrytiger



Category: Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-19
Updated: 2011-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-14 21:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/153734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hungrytiger/pseuds/hungrytiger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy from the real world could never be a true Heir to Slumberland, because who could give up living a life in exchange for only dreams? Nemo and Flip talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Wake Up Dreaming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elvira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elvira/gifts).



Nemo huffs, sags against the door. “That was a close one.”

Flip peers through the keyhole and sees only the retreating backs of the city police, their merry uniforms now all covered in paint. He snickers to himself. Really, no matter how many times they pull the ol' bucket on top of a doorway prank, it never gets old. Classic Flip, ought to be trademarked, he'd reckoned. Turning away from the funny scene, he smiles at his get-away partner.

“Got that right, m’boy. Thanks for the hand," he says, pulling out a victory cigar.

“Oh, Flip,” Nemo cracks a small smile. “What are you going to do without me?”

Flip feels around for a match, only half an ear to the conversation, and asks, “How’s that?”

The smile grows smaller on Nemo’s face but deeper in his eyes, and he says, “I won’t be coming for awhile.”

Flip releases a puff. Oh. He's talking about that, is he? Same old story, then. Lucky for him it’ll be the same old ending too.

“Princess whining again? I keep tellin’ ya, its good for her’ta get a little wound up time and again. Circulates the blood or sumin’.”

“No, it’s not that. I just won’t… be coming. I’m going somewhere.”

This is not how the conversation is suppose to go, and while dream-conversations rarely go the way a body’d suppose-still, Flip thinks, this is new.

“I did fancy a holiday myself. Anywhere special we’re going?”

At that little remark, the smile slips away from Nemo’s face completely. “No, Flip. I don’t think you understand. There’s a war on you know. I’m going to help.”

No. Flip did not know. War, where things explode and go off and the jokes are rarely ever really funny? What’d Flip do there?

Keep them laughing, he supposes.

“Whatcha goin’ ta go do that for, Kid?”

And the kid’s face lights up and that’s when Flip knows he’s lost him, to dreams that have nothing to do with Morpheus or Princess Twist-in-her-knickers. “I’m going to be a mechanic for the army. Just think! Looking at aeroplane engines, automobiles! Everything! And we’re going to go help Europe and Susie- She's this girl I know. Not as pretty as Camille, but the princess is sort of...Well, Susie Stalmeyer, she’s asked me to write. Send her back some bullet shells and things. Maybe a lace hanky from France. Nothing too special, I s'pose but…What’d you think?”

Flip takes off his hat, wipes sweat fro his forehead and looks down the this hall that's in a building that was never there before today when Nemo'd pointed it out, almost like he'd thought it up outta heir. He thinks of the way things often go sideways when Nemo’s around, the fun of it all. He thinks of this Kid's- just a kid!- face and how Flip's never seen it marred with dirt or sweat and how he's never seen this Susie Stalmeyer neither nor ever heard of this France nor seen it on a map. He thinks how none of this is talk the heir of Slumberland should be saying and how different dreams are when no one's dreaming them anymore. He thinks how'd Nemo manage a joke so big, and miss having a punch line at all?

“Sounds swell, Nemo. Real swell.”

He’s been moving his hands along the rim and puts something back on Nemo hasn’t seen in a long time. When he puts back on his hat, he’s got his old sign on it, the words WAKE UP written in his own, scrawling hand. One look at it and Nemo’s gone.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending of this story pays tribute to original comic strip where Flip would wake Nemo up by putting a sign in his hat reading "Wake Up." The war is, of course, World War One.
> 
> Originally intended for Yuletide 2010, so, Elvira, here is one more Flip-centric story for you.


End file.
